Olaf's Artisan Bakery & Cafe

Pro: good opening hours, nice interior, good coffee, great salads Con: Bread could be better Open till 6pm! That is pretty darn good for a cafe, considering they often close much earlier. Being around the corner from Mt Eden Rd, I've never noticed Olaf's and was very glad when my friend suggested to go there. The salad ($10) I had was amazing and also my friend's sandwich ($12.50) was delicious. The Croissant was also good, but I'll have to come back for the European pastries, which I found quite pricey.  The only thing which didn't convince me was their bread. When I think of European (eg German) bread, it should be much harder and not so fluffy.

We took advantage of a warm, sunny winter day to sit at one of the tables in front of Olaf's, in the heart of Mt. Eden.  The service is friendly and the coffee is excellent. Their moccachino -- which they call a chocafino -- has actual whipped milk and real chocolate shavings on top instead of the usual sprinkling of cocoa powder. Yummy. Their gourmet breakfast is very good. It consists of middle bacon, sausage, roasted tomatoes that have been half-dried, eggs on toast, terrific baked beans, sauteed mushrooms, and crispy hash browns. The kitchen knows how to fry eggs over medium (lots of kitchens ruin that). They also have an impressive lineup of home-baked breads. We enjoyed ourselves and will go back.

Mt Eden is spoilt for cafes, but Olaf’s has its own niche. A happy smiling team to greet and serve you. The French pastries and fresh bread made on premise are devine, and the aroma magnificent. Relaxing here with a great view of Mt Eden, without the main street traffic buzz is just great.

As you walk in you're immediately greeted by the modern decor and beautiful displays of bread and pastries at the counter. Unfortunately the person at the counter must've put our food on the wrong table number because both the coffee and the food got served to the wrong table at first. The staff were friendly though and eventually we got the right things. The big breakfast did have quite a variety of items, though at $22 is probably pushing the expensive end of brunch. Probably would recommend Olaf's for the bread and pastries rather than the cooked meals, and they have a decent number of outdoor seats if you want to bring a dog.

The lovely Mt Eden Village at the foot of Mt Eden – Maungawhau – certainly has its fair share of cafes lining the strip of heritage buildings. So far, so good. Except that for a long time, there really hasn’t been a cafe there that I’d fancy making a regular stop at , whether for just coffee and something sweet, breakfast or lunch. Sorry, they’ve all just been a bit bland for quite a while now, pulling in plenty of punters and not feeling the need to change anything on the menu ever, or anything at all about the decor. So it was a delight to find Olaf’s Artisan Bakery and Cafe, just off Mt Eden Rd in a new development on Stokes Rd, a few months back. The food at Olaf’s – run by talented baker Olaf Blanke and Robert Heeps -  is something quite special, particularly the wide range of freshly-baked breads and pastries, which are made right in front of your eyes in the open kitchen, and fill the whole space with an irresistible aroma. That’s a tangelo tart there, which has a surprising thin layer of dark chocolate between the pastry and the filling – what a thing of beauty! And hoorah, because tangelos are so under-utilised. Many of the breads are traditional German sourdoughs, as Olaf is from that part of the world, plus classic French loaves and baguettes, too. The menu is classic breakfast and lunch dishes with a European lean. I’ve read some odd remarks elsewhere on the tinterweb about the coffee at Olaf’s being ‘bitter’ – well, I’ve had coffee there three times now (Supreme beans), and can report that each time mine was robust, hot, and pretty damn good. I think some people confuse decently strong coffee with ‘bitter’, and would prefer the dishwater served at many cafes, their loss! Suffice to say Olaf’s was the only cafe in the Village to make last month’s Top 50 cafes in Metro magazine. Anyway the other thing I like about Olaf’s is that it reminds me just a wee bit of the lovely Swiss Konditorei that used to span the corner of Mt Eden Rd and Essex St – heyday the late 1980s – the site of which now seems a tad doomed to a succession of places that just don’t quite get it right. The Konditorei had that slightly magical, very European quality, with its picture-perfect fruit tarts, gateaux and fresh bread. If only Olaf’s made ice cream and fruit sorbets like the Konditorei, I’d be happy as a young child again!

Nice atmosphere and great food, in the heart of Mt Eden so expect to pay a little more but definitely worth a visit. They bake on site so fresh bread and treats available at the counter to take away with you too.